The present invention relates to a system and apparatus for supporting a user to see a video in an apparatus for recording and playing TV programs. Particularly, it relates to a system for supporting a user to search for his/her desired program from a group of recorded TV programs easily and quickly and an apparatus using the system. This apparatus includes a video player/recorder, recorder and player.
In the prior art, there are roughly the following two methods of searching for TV programs recorded by a user.
Firstly, one of them is a method of searching while actually looking at a video by fast forwarding or rewinding a recorded program. In recent years, a video recorder has come into existence which facilitates searching for a TV program while listening to sound by doubling the image speed and maintaining the sound speed at a normal level. To increase the efficiency of retrieval, great efforts have recently been made to increase the fast forward speed and the rewind speed.
Secondly, the other is a method of indexing programs at the time of recording and searching for a desired program by displaying a list of the indices on the screen. Generally speaking, recording date and time are used as indices. It is considered that information which can be acquired as the attributes of a program by a video recorder are currently only recording date and time. In the video recorder, a list of the recording times and dates of TV programs is displayed on the screen so that a user can search for his/her desired program from the list while recollecting his/her recording date and time.
Along with the digitization of TV broadcasting, electronic information on TV programs is multiplexed in broadcasting and aired. This electronic program information is generally called EPG (Electronic Program Guide). EPG includes key words such as the title, category and performers of each program. Current digital satellite broadcasting enables a user to select his/her desired channel by displaying this EPG on the screen. As for terrestrial broadcasting, a service for broadcasting electronic program information embedded in VBI (Vertical Blanking Interval) which is an unused area will be shortly started.
When progress is made in this broadcasting service, the third method that information contained in EPG is used as retrieval indices is easily conceivable. In this case, when a program is recorded, EPG is also stored. To see a recorded program, the titles of recorded programs are listed on the screen ad a user selects his/her desired program from this list.
A description is subsequently given of the function of a video recorder related to the present invention. This function is not always necessary to carry out the present invention.
Along with the spread of digital broadcasting, apparatuses for recording a digital video will come into existence. Since the high compression of a digital video can be expected from the digital video recorders, a large number of video programs can be recorded. Also, with the appearance of a DVD-RAM changer and an increase in the capacity of a hard disk, a larger number of video programs will be able to be recorded.
Further, the program recording function will be improved by using the above mentioned EPG. For example, it will be possible to record a program by directly specifying the title of the program or to automatically record a program having a keyword by specifying the keyword included in program information such as the category or performer of the program. Particularly, the user""s history of viewing is analyzed to automatically record a program which seems to be the favorite of the user.
The present invention is particularly effective for a video recorder which has the above automatic recording function and can store a large number of video programs.
Subsequently, problems which are seen in the prior art will be reviewed.
In the first method, a user must always look at the screen until he/she finds out his/her desired program and fast forwarding and rewinding operations are complicated and troublesome. Since this method depends on user""s intuition and memory, a user""s burden is large. Particularly when a program is automatically recorded, user""s intuition and memory cannot be relied upon any longer. As more and more video images are stored, the user""s burden increases.
Since a video program is searched for with an index in the second method, the user""s burden is slightly lightened. However, since index information is only recording date and time, it can be said that this method also depends on the intuition and memory of a user. Particularly, when a program is automatically recorded, it is difficult to recall the contents of the recorded program from its recording date and time.
Since EPG indicative of the contents of a program such as the title of a program is used as an index in the third method, the burden of user""s intuition and memory is greatly lightened. That is, the user searches for his/her desired program while looking at the titles of programs. However, when a large number of recorded programs can be stored, the titles of all the recorded programs cannot be displayed on the screen and the retrieval of indices becomes complicated. Further, it is difficult to recall the contents of automatically recorded programs from program information alone.
It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a system and apparatus for searching for a recorded video program easily and quickly.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a system and apparatus for searching for a user""s desired program from a large number of automatically recorded video programs easily.
To attain the above objects, the present invention is constituted as described below. In a video recorder for recording a video, electronic video information related to videos and corresponding to each unit video is classified according to predetermined criteria of video classification and a class number based on the result of classification is assigned to each unit video to be recorded.
As an example, in the recorded video viewing support system of the present invention, when a video program is to be recorded, electronic program information on the program is recorded and classified according to predetermined criteria of program classification and a predetermined class number (record channel) is assigned to a recorded program.
The recording of electronic program information may be carried out at a time different from the time of recording a video program.
Further, the present invention includes the recording of not only a video program but also a sound program such as a radio program.
To see a recorded program, the recorded program corresponding to a record channel specified by a user (viewer) may be played. At this point, when an ordinary TV program is displayed during the playing of the recorded program at this point, the playing of the recorded program may be interrupted. Since program class items are assigned to record channel numbers, a user can easily recall the contents of a recorded program from a channel number. Further, the user can change the channel number sequentially or directly specify a channel number using a remote controller to search for a program that he/she likes to see easily and quickly. Particularly when a disk medium such as HDD or DVD-RAM is used as a recording medium, it is possible to zap through recorded programs because random access to the recorded program becomes possible. The present invention also provides a recording medium in which a class number (record channel) is recorded together with a movie. The present invention further includes a video camera and a sound recorder which record a class number.
The present invention provides a recorded video viewing support apparatus for supporting a TV program player/recorder to record programs, which can be connected to the TV program player/recorder capable of recording TV programs and playing recorded TV programs, which apparatus comprises means of classifying broadcast TV programs and electronic program information corresponding to the broadcast TV programs according to specified criteria of video classification and means of assigning class numbers according to classification results to recorded TV programs. The recorded video viewing support apparatus encompasses a recorded video viewing support apparatus comprising means of outputting the assigned class numbers to the TV program player/recorder. The recorded video viewing support apparatus further encompasses a recorded video viewing support apparatus which comprises means of storing the assigned class numbers and allows the TV program player/recorder to play a TV program recorded by the TV program player/recorder based on the stored class number and a number related to the class number and input from a viewer.
Further, the present invention provides a video recording medium which is capable of recording video information and can be played by a video player, wherein class numbers related to recorded video information and corresponding to classification results of electronic video information on videos based on the predetermined criteria of video classification are assigned to recorded video information and stored, and the video information is played when the channel selection button of a remote controller of a video player or a TV receiver used in conjunction with the video player is selected if the selected number is a stored class number. The number may be input from a device other than the remote controller. The remote controller is not the remote controller of the video player or TV receiver. Further, the number related to a class number does not need to be equal to the class number.